GONZALO VIANA DI PRISCO
RESEARCH INTERESTS:
Neuronal and
network mechanisms underlying locomotion.
Behavioral
Neuroscience requires us to integrate knowledge from molecules and cell properties
to the computations performed by neural systems generating behavior. Given the
complexity of the mammalian nervous system, the study of the cellular and
molecular genesis of neuronal rhythmic activity in a primitive vertebrate, the
lamprey, has proved to be extremely valuable. I have studied different aspects
of sensory-motor integration in the lamprey at the cellular, molecular and
neuronal circuitry levels. I am extending these studies to higher vertebrates.
Dynamics of complex neural systems,
rhythmic neural activity and the organization of behavior
Neural
rhythmic activity is known to underlie many vital behaviors from digestion,
circulation, respiration to locomotion and cognition. I have investigated the
functional connectivity underlying the generation of the gamma and theta
rhythm, which are involved in the organization of sensory-motor behavior. My
goal is to understand how spatio-temporal patterns of neural activity emerge
from the complex brain dynamics and what is their behavioral significance for
motor pattern generation, sensory-motor integration, and memory-based
decision-making actions. I apply analytical tools derived from the theory of
dynamical systems to the understanding of the collective interplay between
different brain regions in the organization of behavior.
EDUCATION:
M.D. (Medicine and Psychology) Magna Cum Laude; Central University of
Venezuela Caracas (1975)
M.S. (Computer and Information Sciences); University of Massachusetts at Amherst (1981)
Ph.D. (Neurobiology); University of
California, Berkeley (1983)
Advisor: Walter J. Freeman
Title:
Olfactory bulb spatial EEG dynamics during classical appetitive conditioning in
rabbits.
ACADEMIC
POSITIONS:
"J.M. Vargas" School of Medicine, Central University of Venezuela, Caracas, Venezuela. (1975-1995).
Instructor in Physiology (1975-78)
Assistant Professor of Physiology (1984-88)
Associate Professor of Physiology (1990-92)
Visiting associate researcher at the Institute of Biomedicine, Central University of Venezuela (1985-1992)
Nobel Institute for Neurophysiology, Karolinska Institute, Stockholm, Sweden.
Visiting Research Scientist
(1988-90)
Salk Institute for Biological Studies, La Jolla, California.
Postdoctoral Research Associate (1992-93)
Center for Research in Neurological Sciences, Université de Montréal, Montréal, Quebéc, Canada.
Visiting Research Scientist
(1994-96)
Center for Complex Systems and Brain Sciences, FAU, Boca Raton, Florida.
Postdoctoral Research Associate (1996-2000)
Research Assistant Professor (2002-2004)
Department
of Biological Sciences, University of
Illinois at Chicago, Chicago, Illinois.
Research Assistant Professor
(2000-2002)
Department of Psychology, University of Iowa, Iowa City, Iowa.
Research Scholar (2004-2006)
Department of Neurosciences, Lerner Research Institute, Cleveland
Clinic Foundation, Cleveland, Ohio.
Research
Fellow (2006-2007)
Division of Neurobiology, Barrow Neurological Institute, Phoenix, Arizona
Research
Associate (2008)
PROFESSIONAL SOCIETIES:
Regular
member of Society for Neuroscience
PUBLICATIONS: 32 research papers in referred journals and 9 book chapters
